


The Sixth Afterglow- Conclusion

by Busted



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21787402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Busted/pseuds/Busted
Summary: if you value your sanity, don't read this. This is not a happy story, unless it is.Has some imagery that some may find disturbing? idk. probably yeah...Theres like 1 Himari Tomoe part so i don't know if that warrants the tag.
Relationships: Udagawa Tomoe/Uehara Himari
Kudos: 9





	The Sixth Afterglow- Conclusion

**Author's Note:**

> yeah uh post con depression hits hard yo
> 
> this was originally meant to be a creepypasta based on one of my favorite Bang Dream event story, The Sixth Afterglow. I turned it into something else halfway through.

Some people say that ghosts do not exist, but I beg to differ. Ever since that one terrible day, I’ve been haunted by a ghost. A supposedly nonexistent being that only I can see.

It started when I left my homework at school the day before summer break. My friends and I all went to the school to grab it, but we were somehow locked in the school at night.

One of my friends suggested exiting through the gym door because they leave it open for club activities. On our way there, a lot of weird stuff happened. 

When we exited, my friend, M, mentioned a ghost at our school who plays pranks on people and looks for someone to play with.

After that day, the first time I saw her would be the day I continued working on my homework. I was hanging out at my friend’s cafe with my best friends and noticed a strange, hidden message in my textbook that read

“Come and play with me again.”

Reading the message sent a chill down my spine.

After I understood the message, I saw her sitting at the table next to ours.

She had extremely long black disheveled hair that covered her entire face. However, I could sometimes see glimpses of her wide open bloodshot pupils. She was also wearing the uniform from my school, except that it has been drenched in a mixture of water and blood. She was also barefoot, and I saw bruises and cuts on her legs and feet.

I couldn’t stop staring at her despite how disturbed I was. 

It felt like the steam coming from my hot caramel latte suffocated me. The atmosphere became clogged, and my entire head pulsed violently. I struggled to let out even a small breath. 

“Hey, H, what’s going on? You’ve been staring at that chair for a long time.”

My friend, T, pulled me out of pandemonium, but I needed to find an excuse. They wouldn’t take my situation well, so for now, I needed to keep a secret.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just thinking hard about the homework.”

“You’re not even on the right page,” said R.

“Ohh hahaha, uh, I was thinking about past lessons. I gotta cycle my brain before I actually do the homework.”

“Okay, but if there’s anything wrong, let us know,” said T.

Our conversation made me forget about her until I heard her hum the tune of one of our songs.

A precise and thin needle pierced the back of my head. We haven’t even practiced that song since the night at the school. How did she know about it?

Her perfect humming caused me to shake my pen and lose focus on my homework. My friends wondered why I looked like I was about to cry, so I told them it was because the problems in the workbook were difficult. There was a splashing sensation in my stomach, and I felt something sour go up my throat.

My head was being spun and caved in. In my current state, I struggled to even remember what sine was. I calmed down, and asked T to block my view of the chair. Then, I plugged in my earbuds, and blasted some music. With these conditions met, I focused on finishing my homework.

After I finished my trigonometry homework, T got up, and the ghost was no longer sitting on the chair. I begged my friend, T, to walk me home. Being with her makes me feel safe, and hugging her arm feels really nice. Oh, and she has biceps. 

“Is something wrong? You’ve been hugging my arm tighter than usual today and you were acting strange back at the cafe.”

“It’s nothing, the homework was really stressful, and with what happened the other day, I just feel so mentally exhausted.”

“Yeah, I understand. I’m also still recovering from what happened. If you need to, you could always stay at my place.”

I declined T’s offer.

When I went home that day, I did some research and found out about a girl who went missing from my school. Her name was Sawako. She was an artistic genius who played piano for the school choir and was also part of the theatre club. 

When I read about Sawako, I knew that it was her. She was the one who was haunting me. That night, when I went to school with my friends to retrieve my stuff, we began singing one of our songs to calm ourselves. After that, we heard a piano being played, and it was playing our song. Furthermore, she could imitate the voices of me and my friends to near perfection.

Sawako didn’t show up for a while and the next time I saw her would be the day school resumed. 

I quickly hypothesized that Sawako only appeared on days where I either went to school, or was doing something school related like homework.

During class, Sawako would stand by the whiteboard and wave at me infrequently. It was unsettling, but after a few days, I realized that Sawako didn’t mean any harm. That’s not to say she didn’t cause problems for me in class. Because of Sawako, I found it difficult to concentrate in class. Most of my focus was directed towards Sawako, and who she was when she was alive. 

Her background reminded me of my friend M, and the prince of my school, K. M is the guitarist of my band, and she is a musical genius who can play nearly anything after only listening to it once. K is an ultra attractive actress who could play any given role, and could make me faint with her charm. 

I still have no idea what Sawako was like, but by comparing her to people I know, I became more accepting of her. 

The days gradually went by and her presence was no longer bothersome. I thought of Sawako as an old friend. This might sound weird- my um, relationship with Sawako was moving in the right direction. Whenever I practiced the bass at home, she would write down notes like

“You tend to speed up at this part”

“This part sounds dull”

“Less power here”

By taking her advice, I noticed some improvement in my playing. My friends also noticed that I was getting better at playing the bass. 2G was the one who pointed it out. 2G is really good at discovering someone’s strengths and improvements. I just wish 2G would direct some of that talent towards herself. She’s so hardworking and always has a positive attitude.

When my friends praised my progress, I felt strangely warm. Was it because of Sawako or because I was proud of my advancement or both?

I had an “aha!” moment. Ghosts were intangible, but they could still affect the atmosphere. They were forces of nature that could change your body temperature or the mood in the room. 

When I returned from practice and finished my daily tasks, it was already 10:30 PM. 

I was finally ready to talk with Sawako.

I laid on my bed with my eyes wide open.

“Sa...Sawako, are you there? You are Sawako, right?”

She appeared, floating near my ceiling.

“Yes, I am Sawako.”

Her voice was a soft drizzle, but the tone was so heavy, so it felt like a rainstorm. I wanted to open my umbrella, and cry under it. I didn’t think talking to Sawako would be this hard. I let out a jagged sigh, and my forehead wrinkled. 

“Uh, why did you decide to follow me?”

“Because you have a wonderful, warm aura.”

“A wonderful, warm aura?”

“Yes, a bright pink light that emits positive energy and hope. My other visitors either went to school for selfish intents or was that girl from the Astronomy Club. The girl from the Astronomy Club is also kind, but she’s very unpredictable.”

The dark clouds began fading. Her voice turned into a mixture of regret and fondness.

Wonderful, warm aura huh?

“When I’m with you, I don’t feel so cold. I’m not reminded of my last day on Earth. That’s why I decided to follow you.”

My hands started shaking, and a smile formed on my face. Tears poured from my eyes down into my ears, but I couldn’t bring myself to wipe the tears. Strong emotions overwhelmed me. I wanted to be happy from Sawako’s compliment, but I remembered that she was dead. Well, dead to most of the world. 

Sawako slowly descended from the ceiling, and now stood next to my bed. She placed both hands on my arm, and smiled at me. 

“I think… I’m finally ready to leave Earth.”

I pushed my face into my pillow. I couldn’t handle this anymore. 

“I’m ready to move on. Accompanying you these two months was something I’ve never thought was possible. I was about to give up on my goal, and move on, even though leaving the Earth with unfinished business is taboo for a ghost.”

“What was your goal?” I mumbled.

“To make a friend. In better terms, to experience friendship for myself. When I was alive, I never had a true friend. Everybody was only interested in me because of my artistic talent. I was scared that people wouldn’t like me, and I passed away before anybody knew who I really was.”

So was that why she was humming that song back at the cafe? I was still crying, even though the scene in my head became a sunset.

“When I saw you with your friends, I understood that it was friendship in its purest form. A group of people who have a mutual understanding and level of respect with each other. Seeing you with your four friends made me so happy.”

Stop, please just stop. I can’t take anymore of this. If only Sawako was alive, then she could be friends with us, and be the sixth member of our band. No matter how hard I wished, Sawako was still a ghost.

“Well, this is goodbye,” Sawako said.

I flipped back up, and saw her drifting away. The long haired figure who horrified me somehow became someone who I didn’t want to see go. Because of my heavy feelings, I couldn’t talk so I reached towards her with my right palm.

She stopped moving, and I got up and pointed to my desk. I began writing a message to Sawako, but I was trembling so much. Every time my heart beat, a wave of micropulses rang through my fingers. 

I wanted to tell her how wonderful she is, how much I’ll miss her, and how she was my friend. I began taking deep breaths, and slowly found myself in a realm of focus. I handed Sawako the note.

When I left my homework at school, and learned that my school is haunted, I thought nothing good would come from it. Thankfully, I was wrong because I met you. It was you who helped me become a better bassist. It was you who noticed my eternal connection to my friends. You’re a thoughtful person who only wants to bring out the best in people. Thank you.

Sawako nodded, and she began fading away. The note I wrote was also disappearing until both Sawako and the note completely vanished. 

I couldn’t stop crying that night, and I kept re-imagining Sawako fading away in my mind. 

I woke up, and checked my workbook. There was a “thank you” written on the front page. "No, I'm the one who should be thanking you," I whispered.

PS- R wrote a song about our scary misadventures in the school at night, and the song is so amazing. It’s probably our best song yet, and highlights so many strengths of the band. R is a master who could bend words. Every time she writes a new song, our band’s bond as five friends grows stronger.

As for me, the song represents something else: my brief yet meaningful relationship with Sawako which I should tell my friends about someday.

**Author's Note:**

> im gonna wrap myself in a feathered cocoon, surrounded by silk, and re-emerge with mint chocolate.


End file.
